Spice Merchant In The Souk

Sacks of ground spice line a narrow market alley, their peaks colored deep red, saffron, turmeric yellow, and violet, each labeled in Arabic script. An older merchant in a striped robe scoops paprika into a wooden measure while a woman in a floral headscarf weighs out spice into small bowls at his counter. Overhead, patterned rugs in teal and crimson hang beside dozens of lit lanterns in green, amber, and ruby glass. Shelves further down the alley display stacked ceramic plates and folded textiles, and a crowd in flowing robes and hijabs moves past stalls selling cinnamon sticks bundled in twine. Another vendor checks his phone near a rug seller in the background. Sunlight barely reaches the stone floor between the hanging lanterns, and each sack of spice keeps its own mound separate from its neighbor.